Product Description

The #1 New York Times bestselling author provides a shocking analysis of the crisis in Pakistan and the renewed radicalism threatening Afghanistan and the West.

Ahmed Rashid is “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter” (Christopher Hitchens). His unique knowledge of this vast and complex region allows him a panoramic vision and nuance that no Western writer can emulate.

His book Taliban first introduced American readers to the brutal regime that hijacked Afghanistan and harbored the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Now, Rashid examines the region and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe to see how the promised nation building in these countries has pro-gressed. His conclusions are devastating: An unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan, a renewed al’ Qaeda profiting from a booming opium trade, and a Taliban resurgence and reconquest. While Iraq continues to attract most of American media and military might, Rashid argues that Pakistan and Afghanistan are where the conflict will finally be played out and that these failing states pose a graver threat to global security than the Middle East.

Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the crisis in Pakistan are only the beginning. Rashid assesses what her death means for the region and the future. Rashid has unparalleled access to the figures in this global drama, and provides up-to-the-minute analysis better than anyone else. Descent Into Chaos will do for Central Asia what Thomas Rick’s Fiasco did for Iraq — offer a blistering critique of the Bush administration and an impassioned call to correct our failed strategy in the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

An Indispensible Guide to the AfPak Disaster
Rashid's "Descent into Chaos" is probably the most important and useful book on current events I've ever read. A highly-acclaimed journalist based in Pakistan, Rashid has been following the Taliban long before they became a household word in the United States, tracking them from their rude origins in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan through their various fortunes in Central Asia to the present day.

In this book Rashid focuses on the geopolitics of Pakistan and Afghanistan over the last 15 years, and the portrait that emerges is a damning one. Unfettered corruption, imperial hubris, belligerent adventurism by the US, and an utter failure of nation building by NATO, the EU, and UN have converged to produce a hotbed of terrorism that only worsens as the years grind on.

Rashid's knowledge of the region is immense. He has traveled extensively throughout Central Asia, sometimes at considerable risk to life and limb. Rashid's relationship with Hamid Karzai dates back more than twenty years, when he was still an unknown resistance organizer unable to enter his own country. He has served in an advisory capacity to several European missions, and has met one-on-one with most of the key players, including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Musharraf.

Anyone who follows international news will be familiar with many of the key events chronicled in this book, but the extraordinary detail and the vividness of Rashid's writing organize a sometimes-confusing sequence of events into a coherent narrative that gives shape to some of the most urgent issues of our time.

Some of the questions I brought to this book were: What is Karzai's character really like? Is he corrupt, or a US puppet, or a decent ruler? Why did the US become so closely involved with Pakistan? What is the nature of Al Qaeda? Is it an actual organization, or is it more of an ideological banner? How does India's ongoing conflict with Pakistan relate to all this? Why did we not ally with democratic India instead of military dictatorship Pakistan? Is there an immanent danger of a Taliban takeover of nuclear-armed Pakistan?

This book answered these questions and many more. A primary focus is Pakistan's instrumental role in creating and sustaining the Taliban and Al Qaeda and the circumstances that produced it. Rashid argues that by allowing a short-sighted and ideologically-dominated Pentagon to absolutely dictate foreign policy in the region, the US pumped massive amounts of money into regional dictatorships in order to gain key strategic access to the region. By directing those funds overwhelmingly toward military aid, the US has essentially funded the Taliban, and by extension, Al Qaeda, throughout the Bush years. That this is so is widely corroborated by media accounts, and is not a matter of dispute by anyone but the most partisan ideologues.

Why have we been willing to act with such outrageous stupidity? Tragically, it looks like the Pentagon believed this to be the most effective way to avoid committing to nation-building in Afghanistan so it could free resources to conduct another, unrelated war in the region, the invasion of Iraq.

It was clear by 2006 that our dismal failure to commit to nation building in Afghanistan along with our unquestioning support of the duplicitous and murderous Musharraf encouraged the resurgence of the Taliban, and all but guaranteed that when we slink out of the region, we will leave it in the Taliban's hands, at least in part.

Instead of fighting our real and deadly enemy, Al Qaeda, we opted to fund their supporters by offering massive support to Pakistan's ISI. Throughout the region we've funded mass murderers, tyrants, and drug-dealing warlords, rather than risk the political fallout associated with building roads, hospitals, and schools. Why this has been our policy, and to what end we chose to ignore a murderous and dangerous foe in order to invade Iraq, is anyone's guess. However, our commitments have not gone unnoticed in the region, and has dramatically increased hatred of the United States, which is correctly perceived as uninterested in the welfare of the great masses of people, who are to be readily sacrificed to brutal thugs on the altar of political expediency.

Post-9/11 policy directed by the Neocon Bush White House emerges from this book as a monstrous parade of abuses, lies, unbridled arrogance, catastrophic shortsightedness, unilateralism, and a bestial disregard for the welfare of the victims of oppressive regimes from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan to the FATA, where Al Qaeda and the Taliban operate with impunity. All this, at a cost to US taxpayers that exceeds the inflation-adjusted expenditure of World War II. It is perhaps the greatest policy failure in US history, the kind of debacle that ends empires, and there is no end in sight.

More LikeAfghanistan and Pakistan
Let me begin by saying that I liked Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid because it provided a useful and readable of the events surrounding Pakistan and Afghanistan leading up to and post 9-11 and the United States war there. However, the book is labeled as a discussion of the failure of nation-building in Central Asia. Most of the chapters revolve around Afghanistan and Pakistan with a brief word tied in occasionally about the other countries. The point that the fates of all of these places is interconnected because they deal with many of the same problems of radical extremism, ruling corruption, and bad economic and educational conditions, but I would've wanted to hear a little bit more about the other countries of the Central Asia regions he discusses. I was also concerned when he referred to Harmid Karzai as his good friend in the first few pages of the book that it was going to be a Karzai love piece...by taking care to criticize Karzai for failings at several points he alleviated those concerns. Overall a good book on the nuts and bolts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but you'll need another book to dig further into the larger Central Asia region.

Ahmed Rashid the Lion Heart
I am not going to say much about the book apart from telling you that if you are someone who prides him/herself on being well informed and especially if you are from the US, Pakistan, Afghanistan or India then you would be making a huge blunder in not reading this book not to mention owning a copy.The contents are chilling, mind boggling and will leave you like the sheeted dead squeaking and gibbering ere the mighty Ceasar fell.The import of my message is:Even in today's dollar driven world, there are still people like Ahmed Rashid who put their life on the line everyday by simply doing their work.I am from India and I really dont know why the ISI havent either assasinated Ahmed Rashid or atleast maimed him so that he cant continue his work.God forbid this should happen but read the book and you will find out that the man has earned the ire of the ISI.The amazing thing is he lives in Lahore!!!He is truly one Lion Hearted guy.His pen is startlingly unbiased and his passion shines forth as a truly concerned citizen of the region and not just Pakistan.His love for Afghanistan seems very evident in fact.A truly altruistic man, a Pakistani I lift my hat off to, a man I would love to meet, shake his hand, ask his autograph and tell him that night and day I pray for his safety and the continuation of his work.God bless you Ahmed Rashid.

The frustrations of Afghanistan
This importantbook has recently been added to the U.S. Marine Corps Commandants list as required reading for senior officers. It is a hard but needed read. You will soon find yourself emeshed in tribal lore, corruption and desperation. But that comes with the territory. Most people will not be able to read every page with understanding but by the time you put this book down you will know how desperate the situation is in Afghanistan and how absolutely fruitless it is for us to be trying to establish a Western Type goverent there. Many will say it is too harsh on the Bush Administration but facts are facts and this author is an expert on this area. Don't fool yourself this is a hard read but one well worth the effort.

Descent Into Chaos
Although chaos may be an apt description of the subject of this book, South and Central Asia, it also characterizes the book itself, which is a disorganized mishmash of truth, obfuscation, conjecture and falsehoods. Divided haphazardly into four parts there is no unifying theme within each of the book's separate sections. While easy to follow the author hasn't constructed his book well to support his argument that Afghanistan needs a Marshall Plan-like investment to bring peace and prosperity to the world.

The author presents all of the stories of the Afghan War that everyone is familiar with, the rise and fall of the Talib tribes, occupation and withdrawal of Russian forces in Afghanistan, the Daniel Perl beheading, the Abu Grab and rendition scandals, the Afghan elections, etc., with no more depth than a newspaper article. He doesn't make any attempt to explain the region in regards to the dynamics of the groups that make up South and Central Asia. He doesn't explain the people of Afghanistan well, whose hearts and minds he wants the west to win. All of the events are presented to validate certain preconceived notions supporting US intervention. The author is careful not to offend these supporters.

The book is frequently contradictory. In an earlier chapter he explains how great the Afghan elections were only to criticize them as corrupt towards the end of the book. He applauds the initial US invasion of Afghanistan citing its cost as under a billion dollars but then cites figures hundreds of times more later in the book. I noticed this a lot. When not contradicting himself the author sometimes makes stuff up. He recounts a meeting with a State Department official who he asked for a comment about Donald Rumsfeld's announcement of Afghan troop withdrawals. He said the official looked up, and from the one look he writes several hundred words of reaction. I don't object to the use of unnamed sources, but I do object to putting words into the mouths of unnamed sources.

I'm not sure if there is a language or translation problem but the author consistently relates events as if they happened chronologically when the later events actually happened years before. The oddest occurrence of this is when he says he met a man who died fighting. While that particular passage was odd, most of the time the author was arguing a cause and effect relationship, saying that later events caused the former events.

The book is loose with it's facts. The author identifies the group that hijacked a Pakistani airliner. After identifying them, he continues to refer to them as Al Queda. They are not. He does the same thing when identifying the group arrested for plotting to attack a US military installation in Germany.

I think the book fails for the most part because the author isn't able to understand US foreign policy or consider that US interests are not the same as Pakistani interests. The author is a Pakistani. Pakistan is a major trading partner with Afghanistan. The more money that pours into Afghanistan, the more Pakistan benefits. The book is mostly whining and complaining, not valid reasons why the US-Pakistani interests should align. ... Read more

Product Description
In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Fires of Heaven, we plunge again into Robert Jordan's extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world;

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne--and where an unexpected visitor may change the world....

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march....

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally....And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (317)

Wheel of time series, by Robert Jordan
Excellent book series, don't get involved if you dont want to read a long story.like 14 books long.if you enjoy reading fantasy novels this is one of the best.it is a legendary story equal to the writings of Tolkien, better than any other modern fantasy novelist currently in writting.

Low point of the series
I must shake my head in amazement when i read all of the five star reviews that this book gets.It's like these people haven't even read the first five books in the series, for if they did they would have to realize the dropoff in quality starting with Lord of Chaos.By no means a terrible book, this is where the majority of WoT readers can all agree that the series begins to stagnate.This is one of those rare novels where one can openly give the entire story away and not have to put spoiler tags because ABSOLUTELY NOTHING EVER HAPPENS.Readers should just get used to this and stick it out, as this becomes a theme for the next three books or so.

One thing that this book does do, however, is contintue to develop the entire female cast of characters into the most hateable ensemble of raving lunatic bitches to ever grace the pages of American literature.Just about every single chapter with Elayne or Faile is complete torture.Oddly enough, I don't really mind Nynaeve, but that's probably because she spends most of the series next to the completely intolerable Elayne.Seriously Elayne.Go away and die.

Having said all of that, the book is interesting enough to get to the end, which is actually one of the most climactic endings in the entire series.All i have to say is this: Dumais Wells.That is all.

Lord of Chaos
The speed with which I received the books was definitely 5 star (I ordered books 5, 6, and 7). But I ordered the larger size of the paperbacks and received the smaller size. If the larger size is no longer available then it shouldn't be an option. This is the second time this has happened. The other time was with another vendor.

The begin of the great Wheel of Time slump
When I first read Robert Jordan's Lord of Chaos back in 1997, I remember it being a grueling read that sapped my enthusiasm for the series. In many ways, it sets the formula for its successors -- hundreds of pages of inertia punctuated by an event at the end. Now that I'm older and am better at deconstructing an author's intent, successful or not, I do appreciate what Robert Jordan was trying to do with the book. The payoff is neatly executed based on themes set-up throughout the book, it's just that it necessitates making the women of the book -- particularly Nynaeve and Elayne -- extremely unlikable.

Lord of Chaos is fundamentally about Rand's relationship with the Aes Sedai, which in turn is a proxy for the relationships between men and women in general. In Fires of Heaven, Moiraine told him never to trust another Aes Sedai -- Rand understands the argument, but naively underestimates the two delegations that come to him. He chooses to trust the wrong delegation, and that in turn forces a series of events that culminates in the Battle of Dumai's Wells, perhaps one of the most visceral and exhilarating action sequences in the series. The final moments of the story proper also bring about the natural resolution for Robert Jordan's major themes -- his view of the politics between men and women, and in particular, the manipulation and humiliation of men at the hands of women and ultimately the need for women to submit to men.

I'm not sure if I would describe Robert Jordan as a sexist, necessarily, and he's definitely not a misogynist, but he takes the "Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars" approach to an embarrassing level. The women of the book do not treat its men very well -- indeed, Rand is literally tortured for being a man that can channel (though one wonders if he's tortured for simply being a man who stands up to powerful women). This has been a problem for me throughout the series, but I find it especially troubling in Lord of Chaos. Gender is treated as a see saw, tilting the balance of power between one side or the other. There is no equality, only a struggle for dominance.

I want to continue my re-read of the series to get to Brandon Sanderson's contributions, but I wonder how much more of this I can take. It's especially a shame because the earlier books were so entertaining. Alas, I must grit my teeth and soldier on to the end, although each volume grows more tedious than the last.

Tragic
That a series begun with such promise could devolve into this is sad. Read the first three, or four if you have the stomach for it, and then move on to Martin, Le Guin, Erikson, Tolkien, or even Brooks. ... Read more

Product Description
Now in paperback: Linda Robinson's intimate, exclusive-and New York Times best-selling- account of the most secretive and elite soldiers in the U.S. Army today

Army Special Forces soldiers have been at the forefront of America's counterterrorist campaigns in recent years. But little is known about the brave, seasoned individuals fromAmerica's heartland who belong to this secretive unit. Veteran journalist Linda Robinson gained access to their closed community, traveling with them on the frontlines and interviewing them at their home bases. She describes their training, doctrine and methods, and recounts the missions of this post-Vietnam generation of commandos in Panama, El Salvador, Desert Storm, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. More Special Forces were deployed in Iraq than in any previous conflict, and Masters of Chaos recounts in detail their untold missions in the north against Ansar al-Islam and the dramatic race to secure the western desert with a handful of men aboard the "war pigs."

Through this elite band of patriots, men like "Rawhide," Alan, "Killer," Michael T, "Grit" and Colonel Charlie, Linda Robinson provides a gripping narrative of U.S. Special Forces in action.Amazon.com Review
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have given the U.S. Army's Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, a central role in American military action like never before. Several hundred U.S. Special Forces operators helped a motley band of Afghan rebels orchestrate a stunning rout when they overthrew the Taliban after 9/11. In Iraq, as journalist Linda Robinson explains in Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces, Special Forces units were the main U.S. elements on the ground in the northern and western regions of the country, where they defeated government forces that outnumbered them many times over. Robinson tells the story of the Special Forces through the eyes of a few of its more colorful personalities, men with call signs like Rawhide and Killer. She follows them around the world from Panama and El Salvador to Somalia, Kosovo, and, finally, Afghanistan and Iraq. Surprisingly, however, she devotes only a few pages to the Green Beret-led victory in Afghanistan, even though it was arguably their greatest achievement since they were created after World War II.

Critics and supporters of the recent American interventions alike should find the technical proficiency of the Special Forces interesting and impressive. Each 12-soldier team may marshal more than a century of combined experience in weapons, foreign languages, intelligence, communications, air control, and trauma medicine. For a book about such an action-packed subject, though, Robinson's effort is somewhat dry, and she devotes more time to mundane background biographies than to the dramatic battle scenes in which the Special Forces invariably find themselves. In addition, Robinson's "secret history" is an authorized and sympathetic one, and readers may be left wondering what she may have left out of her accounts in order to maintain her access. --Alex Roslin ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Too much fluff.
This is an interesting book.When the talk about the troops in action it is good.There is too much "personal side" in this book.

1st half of the book was very good but...........
I read about 10 books a year, all non-fiction, mostly military but also some bios & auto-bios. I completely lost interest in this book about 3 chapters from the end! I've never done that before. I either love a book & keep reading & or don't like how it's written & put it down by chapter 2 or 3. The book really sucked me in telling about Randy Wurst & what he & other guys went through......then somewhere around 3/4 through the book I just didn't feel like I was into it anymore. I often buy 2 or 3 books at a time so I picked up Delta Force by Col. Charlie Beckwith & BOOM I was good again. I wished that book kept going!

No Secrets revealed at all
I picked this book up in hardback at a discounted rate.I expected to read about special forces missions, at least those that were not SECRET!!!It appears the author wanted to follow one particular SF soldier throughout, Randy.But Randy was not in at least half the book.So, I tried to follow along.When she talked about Randy in one particular case about training another country in parachuting, Randy was injured seriously, but never finished the story about the SF trying to teach the other country.Through most of the book it goes like this.You are left wondering, well, where is the rest of the story.And then she focuses on the Iraq war.Some great work there but very short and not very much detail.And no Randy.I did read the book all the way through, but found it difficult to stay focused on what was going on because it became boring, story lines were not finished, action was dulled down and truly (as another reviewer wrote) there is no real secrets here.We know most of this stuff already.

Excellent?I think Not
I hate to say it but this book is not very well written.However, I will concede that it might be me.I would have liked to read about more of the action and "Chaos" these operators deal out.It seems the writer listened to a few stories and made do with what she had.The empty space was filled with cliches. Also, there were few citations or foot notes; you just have to take the authors word for it.She wasted a perfect chance to get the real story.

Excellent modern history of covert operations
This book is a must read for those interested in Special Operations.It is easily one of the best written and encompassing books.The last half of the book deals extensively with the success special operations soldiers had in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the troubles once conventional units and the Pentagon bureaucracy took over. ... Read more

Product Description
Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (56)

Unbelievable Premise - Amazing Book!!
Igot this bookbecause it was recommended as a good dystopian novel.After the first sentence (about Manchee the talking dog) I was ready to toss it aside as ridiculous. Several hours later I was forced to stop reading because I'd promised my husband I'd watch Iron Man 2 with him. I spent the entire movie in an anxious stew - dying to get back to Todd, Manchee, and company.

This is a seriously good book .It isn't flawless:there are some plot devices that are a little overused to keep the mysteries from being solved too quickly, and there are some elements that are a little unbelievable (Just to be clear though - I absolutely bought into the most fantastical elements of the story- it was so well written.But I had some problems believing some of the decisions made by most of the men in the novel.) Even with those flaws, however, this is a five star book.The Knife of Never Letting Go had one of the most compelling narrative voices I have ever read and I am a voracious reader.There are parts of this novel - ugly, beautiful, sad, funny -that I'm sure I'll never forget.And the ridiculous talking dog?Todd's relationship with Manchee was the most moving part of the whole novel.

I didn't know this book was a part of a trilogy when I started it so I was a little bummed that I'd have to wait to see how the story ends but luckily it looks like the last book will be released on kindle at the end of the month.

Good original book.I highly recommend it.

The Knife of Never Letting Go
So I've heard a bit of hype surrounding The Knife of Never Letting Go and, finding out that it was dystopian and science fiction, decided to finally read it. I'm really glad I can say the hype wasn't completely misleading, and that aside from a few minor things, I really enjoyed it.

The story takes place in the New World, although we're not told exactly where that is. The settlers came decades ago, and found that there was another species living on the planet, the Spackle. The settlers and the Spackle didn't get along and eventually this led to the war, and the Spackle releasing the Noise germ, which allowed the thoughts of all men to be heard by everyone else around them, and killed all the women. The settlers won the war, and the Spackle became extinct. This was all before Todd was born and later on lead him to believe that the Spackle were the cause of all the problems in the New World. The opening (above) instantly drew me in. The first line definitely sparks curiosity. In no time, we're into the chase. Todd and Viola, the mysterious girl from the swamp and the only girl he's ever seen, running for their lives, making their way across each settlement of the New World with the Prentisstown Army at their heels. The plot was really exciting, and fast-paced, and loaded with adventure that kept me reading.

I loved the way it was written; from Todd's point of view. It's simplistic, but not boring, and you can tell that Patrick Ness really put himself into the character's shoes and made it realistic. I think some readers might get caught up on the way he speaks, and his illiteracy, but it was easy for me to get past that just because the story was so great. Todd was an interesting character. Okay, so I wish he had a little more defiance and fight in him, but granted his situation of having the truth shielded from him all his whole life, his logic was plausible. Throughout the story, Todd deals with his own internal conflict of wanting so badly to go from being a boy to a man, but in Prentisstown that's the equivalent of becoming a killer. Todd and Viola's relationship was strained at first while they were getting used to each other; Todd adjusting to Viola's silence, and Viola adjusting to Todd's noise. But along the way they really learned to rely on and trust each other. And of course, I just have to mention Manchee. I've never been a fan of talking animals before, but he was written so well, and I think he added some playfulness and humor to the otherwise serious book.

Another thing I want to mention is the title. It ties into the book so well. All along their journey Todd had this knife that is essentially his key to becoming a man. It's always right there when he needs it up until the end of the book when he realizes killing does not make you a man. The violence of the men of Prentisstown and their hunger for power is evident. And Todd stands out in contrast because of his ability to rise above them all and their murderous hatred. I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the big twists or "the truth" of Prentisstown and the New World. To me it seemed a little anti-climactic and a tad predictable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to other fellow science fiction or dystopian fiction lovers. And I'll be adding the next two books in the trilogy (The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men) to my never ending to-be-read shelf. In closing I'd just like to say after reading this, I definitely have a newfound appreciation for the privacy of my thoughts.

Reviewed at: [...].

The point isn't that it's science fiction.
The point is that it's so, so, so utterly human and beautiful at times that I could hardly stand it. The suspense, too, of course-- after I had made it about halfway through the book I couldn't put it down because every single chapter seemed to end on a cliffhanger (not excluding the last chapter, although fortunately all three books are out now so it isn't such a problem).

The protagonist, Todd, misspells things everywhere and although in the beginning it is easy to perceive him as an idiot, he is brilliant. Even though his circumstances are so different from anything I've ever experienced, I found it easy to relate to him because of the way that Ness weaves words together-- it is so raw and so unique and so bare-boned.And so perfect.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is fantastic. Read it.

A Noir Fantasy
This first book of the trilogy sets the pace for one of the darkest fantasy stories I have ever read. Definitely not for the easily depressed.

You'll never let go, either.
The Knife of Never Letting Go is, as protagonist Todd Hewwit might say, ruddy brillant.I think there are four basic reasons for this, and I'll do my best to explain those here without giving away spoilers.

#1) Todd Hewwit himself.It is RARE that I actually favor a lead character over all others; usally they pale compared to, say, the witty best friend or love interest, or even sometimes the clever villian.Todd is diffrent.He's very nearly illiterate, speaks in the country dialect that is all he knows from his life in New World, and makes a few bad, and at times heartbreaking decisions...and for all that, you cannot NOT like him.He is prehaps all the more enduring for those very reasons.

#2) The writing.I can't remember the last book I read in which the narration so perfectly reflected the narrator.I never once thought "A boy his age wouldn't really say or do that."This novel is tight, fast-paced, thoughtful.Here's a small example: "My feet are tired and sore.Hers must be, too.I've got blisters and aches and my heart hurts from all I miss and all thats gone.And hers does, too.But we run.Boy, do we run.Cuz maybe (shut up)--Just maybe (don't think it)--Maybe there really is hope at the end of the road."

#3) The Grit.This book is wonderfully gritty.Basically it's one long chase scene on a planet where (almost) everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts, and at all times trouble is either happening or about to happen. If you're a nail-biter you might want to wear gloves while reading, because the suspense is downright agonizing at certain points.These characters and their situations feel real.You cry for them when their worlds crumble and then cheer them on when they pick themselves up. The story goes to dark places and stays there, but in an endless string of YA fiction where authors are hesitant to even scratch their characters, let alone break a bone or two, this is refreshing and credible.

#4)Bigness.Unlike so, so many teen novels these days, The Knife is about much more than a boy/girl relationship.Yes, much of what Todd does is fueled by his devotion to someone, but the story is bigger than that one connection.Consequences are far reaching, and the choices of one boy end up effecting many.

If none of the above is compelling enough to make you read The Knife, I have a #5 reason for you: Manchee.Who is Manchee?Read the book.And just to warn you, the ending is a huge cliffhanger, so you might want to have the second one, The Ask and the Answer, close at hand. ... Read more

Product Description
Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, and Germany, 1918-1936 explores the classicizing aesthetic that followed the immense destruction of World War I. Accompanying the Guggenheim's exhibition of the same name, it examines the interwar period in its key artistic manifestations and their interpretations of classical values and aesthetics: the poetic dream of antiquity in the Parisian avant garde of Fernand Leger and Pablo Picasso; the politicized revival of the Roman Empire under Benito Mussolini by artists such as Giorgio de Chirico and Mario Sironi; and the austere functionalist utopianism of the Bauhaus, as well as, more chillingly, the pseudo-biological classicism, or Aryanism, of nascent Nazi society. This presentation of the seismic transformations in interbellum French, Italian and German culture encompasses painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, film, fashion and the decorative arts. Among the other artists surveyed here are Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Andre Derain, Gino Severini, Jean Cocteau, Le Corbusier, Amedee Ozenfant, Madeleine Vionnet, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Carlo Carra, Giorgio Morandi, Massimo Campigli, Achille Funi, Ubaldo Oppi, Felice Casorati, Giuseppe Terragni, Gio Ponti, Arturo Martini, Georg Kolbe, Oskar Schlemmer, Otto Dix, Georg Scholz, Georg Schrimpf, Wilhelm Schnarrenberger and August Sander. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The lull before (and after) the storm
This book, full of high-quality illustrations of seldom seen works, is above all worth it for the essays that accompany it. It is the catalogue for the current show running at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC which centers on a strangely enough rarely-studied aspect of XXth-century art: the crave of many artists after WWI to return to a more classic approach of their art, going back to ancient Greek roots. This trend was pervasive among the big household manes (Picasso, Braque, Léger...) but also among lesser-known artists (who actually did not pass the test of time, since they are all but forgotten today, such as French painter Yves Alix). Now, this book is disturbing in that it shows that this return to classicism has a twofold interpretation: on the one hand, it is an attempt by some to escape and forget the horrors os WWI, but on the other it is a harbinger of what is soon to come: the lifeless and boring works of Kolbe or Ziegler(the latter a very important pawn in nazi cultural policy)are a sinister reminder that the period we are talking about was to end tragically. Nothing better than Otto Dix's war etchings describes this anguish of the prescient artist seeing before everybody else that freedom is coming to an end. ... Read more

Product Description
An introductory text in nonlinear dynamics and chaos, emphasizing applications in several areas of science, which include vibrations, biological rhythms, insect outbreaks, and genetic control systems. Contains a rich selection of illustrations, with many exercises and examples. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

How can you compare that which has not rivals?
This is an excellent book , I bought this book for a course at Boston University titled "non linear dynamics and chaos".
Up to chapter 5 is ordinary differential equations, nothing more nothing less. It does teach you a lot of basics in diff eq however if you have no idea about diff eq this is not the book of choice.So in order to be able to surf through this book you need to have a good understanding of ordinary differential equations because things that you'll face in this book are weird but amazing. I loved course and I loved the book and if you are committed you can study this book by yourself. I couldn't find a solution manual for it but it has the answers for odd questions just like every math book.
Strogatz is a great professor at Cornell University and if you want to get an insight to the mind that wrote this book just go to [...] type his name and watch the short presentation that he gives about non-linear dynamics.
Remember this is no a bed time read. This is a serious and a rigorous course that requires a pencil, huge amount of paper and your undivided attention. Enjoy

Pretty Good Applied Math Book
If you're a mathematician this book is probably not for you, its not very formal and is driven by physical applications and examples more than theory and rigor.Also it doesn't quite go as deep as other books that I've read on the subject which were written more for mathematicians and more advanced students studying the subject.However, after reading other books on the subject one can still perhaps gain a lot from this book.This book isvery good at presenting physical applications and a different perspective on the subject of dynamical systems that would probably not be discussed in a more mathematically driven book.For example I've read books on the subjects of ODE's and dynamical systems in which the only examples given were either proofs of lemma's and theorems or just "Here's a nondescript system, and here's how we solve it."So I can definitely appreciate what this book has to offer.While understanding that this is a very applied mathematics book, my only big criticism is that the presentation of the material seems a little scatter-brained and a somewhat superficial throughout(which is fine if you're just an undergraduate, but not really suitable for anyone more advanced).
In other words I recommend buying this book for the examples and perspective, but learning the theory elsewhere.

Great read, even casually
Strogatz is a great writer and makes reading this even for pleasure very enjoyable!
I especially loved the section where he talked about fireflies.

I did cover some of these topics in a class, and it helped greatly. I understood the topics probably more than anyone else in the class. And Strogatz makes it very easy to learn, with his casual writing style. Best math-related book I've ever boughten. I wish all books were so great!

Excellent introductory text in this topic
This is one of the best, most easy to read introductory texts on the topic of non-linear dynamics....
Must read for students who want to enter this area.

A must have for researchers in the area
Easy and fun to read while covering the area widely. There are examples provided in the book that help a lot to understand the topic. This is my area of research and I found this book as a must in this field. Even of you are doing research in other related areas, this book provides a very good perception of this field. ... Read more

Product Description
The hottest trend spotter in North America reveals powerful strategies for thriving in any economic climate.

Did you know that Hewlett?Packard, Disney, Hyatt, MTV, CNN, Microsoft, Burger King, and GE all started during periods of economic recession? Periods of uncertainty fuel tremendous opportunity, but the deck gets reshuffled and the rules of the game get changed. EXPLOITING CHAOS is the ultimate business survival guide for all those looking to change the world. Topics include: SPARKING A REVOLUTION, TREND: HUNTING, ADAPTIVE INNOVATION and INFECTIOUS MESSAGING.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

A Solid Primer For Trend Hunting...
A simple, engaging, and thoughtful read.

No one topic is covered in any real depth, but there is enough "meat" to open your mind to innovating for your business.

The title say 150 ways, and there are.I just wish they would have been explored in greater depth.

From Exploiting Chaos to Institutionalize Innovation


In Exploiting Chaos, Jeremy Gusche presents a methodology to institutionalize innovation. The methodology incorporates trend hunting, adaptive innovation, and infective messaging with underpinning culture of revolution. Numerous ideas jump out of the pages as you cruise through it.

The organization of the book allows readers to quickly scan cover to cover. It is a fast read for busy readers. The headlines on each page flow together to help you spark the next big idea.

The book is now one of my three printed references that I revisit whenever I smell stagnation in the air in the office.Revisiting the headlines in the book or visiting the Trend Hunter website gives more jolts to the brains than chugging down Monster.

And, yes, the Trend Hunter website is a site to visit regularly.

exploiting chaos
excellent book.Each page is a topic with great visuals.Fun, entertaining and informative.

Exploiting Chaos Indeed
This is a poorly written book that does not flow smoothly or contain any real substantive information. It looks as though the author took a collection of PowerPoint slides and transformed them into a book, that is poorly formatted. Had the search feature for this book been available at the time of purchase I would not have wasted money on it. So yes the author successfully exploited the reader and produced chaos to make a profit - so there is truth in advertising.

The book you need to navigatechanging times
This is not the usual business book. I read this book on a three hour flight and took over four pages of notes and ideas on how to use the information in my business. It is by far my favorite of the 30 or so business books I have read. Its full of real stories about real busineses that failed to adapt or change and are now history. Let's face it,the world is changing and fast. Whole industries are disappearing. Facebook and Twitter are how the future will look. This book gets right down to the nuts and bolts surviving in this time of extreme change. While he does not get into how to use social media - he does something better. He teaches you how to be nimble, how to accept change and benefit from it. I am a professional portrait photographer and am witnessing the downsizing and possible extinction of my industry due to the proliferation of digital imaging. And that includes Facebook etc. Why buy a portrait when you really want a disk of images you can use anyway you want without paying anymore for it? This has turned our industry upside down, no one knows what to do. Dig in and resist or try to change? The industry leaders say dig in and resist.

After reading this book, I realize that to resist is futile. Anyone want to buy a typewriter or a set of encyclopedias? Reading the book shows how these companies failed to change even when they had a better chance of success than the newcomers. They dug in and put faith in their full bank accounts to get them through. Money was not enough to save them because they could not see how they needed to change to stay relevant. Instead embrace change, adapt and prosper! I truly feel that this book has made me think about my business in a way that will insure it's success. And that means changing how I think about my business and possibly changing the very nature of my business to stay relevent to my customer.

This book is written for the medium sized busineses, but is still valuable to the micro (me) or small business as well as the fortune 500 set. ... Read more

Product Description
The twentieth-anniversary edition of the million-copy-plus Bestseller

THIS EDITION of James Gleick’s groundbreaking bestseller introduces to a whole new readership the story of one of the most significant waves of scientific knowledge in our time. By focusing on the key figures whose genius converged to chart an innovative direction for science, Gleick makes the story of chaos theory not only fascinating but also accessible, and opens our eyes to a surprising new view of the universe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An historical introduction to chaos theory
This book is the first of its kind, which introduces a new branch of science, the chaos or chaos theory from the historical point of view. This theory is widely applied in the transdisciplinary field of meteorology, mathematics, physics, population biology, cell biology, philosophy, astrophysics, information theory, economics, finance, robotics, and other diverse fields. The author has done a tremendous job of putting this book together with very little mathematics. I found this book highly engaging.

A brief summary of the book is as follows: Chaos physics along with classical and quantum physics are required to fully describe physical reality. Physical laws described by differential equations correspond to deterministic systems. In quantum physics, the Schrödinger equation which describes the continuous time evolution of a system's wave function is deterministic. However, the relationship between a system's wave function and the observable properties of the system is non-deterministic (quantum physical phenomenon). The systems studied in chaos theory are deterministic. In general for a deterministic system, if the initial state of a system were known exactly, then the future state of such a system could be predicted. However, there are many dynamical systems such as weather forecasting that are highly sensitive to initial conditions. This sensitivity referred to as the butterfly effect which suggests that small differences in initial conditions (for example, rounding errors caused by limiting the number of decimals in numerical computation), yield different results, rendering long-term prediction impossible, hence they are called chaotic systems. In short these systems are deterministic; their future behavior is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. But that does not make it predictable, this behavior is known as deterministic chaos or chaos.

It is difficult to determine if a physical system is random or chaotic, because in practice no time series consists of pure 'signal.' There will always be some form of corrupting noise, even if it is present as round-off or truncation error. Thus any real time series, even if mostly deterministic, will contain some randomness. Methods that distinguishes deterministic and stochastic (a process having infinite progression with random variables) processes rely on the fact that a deterministic system always evolves in the same way from a given starting point. Thus, given a time series to test for determinism, one can: Pick a test state; search the time series for a similar or 'nearby' state; and compare their respective time evolutions. Define the error as the difference between the time evolution of the 'test' state and the time evolution of the nearby state. A deterministic system will have an error that either remains small (stable, regular solution) or increases exponentially with time (chaos). A stochastic system will have a randomly distributed error. Thus one can see that chaos is neither purely deterministic nor is it stochastic. Application of chaos into cosmology and quantum physical phenomenon illustrates that chaos theory is indeed an important feature of physical reality which requires further development of this field.

1. Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of Chaos
2. Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers

Keeps you engaged
"Chaos" made an interesting read especially for someone like me fasciated by the mysteries of the nature. It is as if the nature has been playing hide and seek with us and not revealing its true colors. At times, the narration drags a bit and needs extra concetration to hold on to the flow. But a good introduction overall to an"armchair scientist" like myself.

Good book overall, too detailed sometimes
A summary of the field and some contributors. Some figures are not labeled properly and some descriptions are too detailed.

Insightful but tedious
Chaos: Making a New Science is intrinsically a bunch of short essays based on the author's research into a number of Chaos experiments and the scientists performing them. One after another with nothing tying them into some sort of progression or main point. Still, many of the stories were very interesting and thought provoking. Some even included insightful tidbits about the inspirations or influences that guided the scientists. But overall it was a tedious read with no real conclusion other than this theory can mathematically describe many seemingly random events.

Another excellent book for non-experts
I am not a hard scientist, but I like to have some idea of what is going on in those fields. Books like this one are ideal for people such as me. This book tackles the fascinating field of Chaos Theory. It turns out that certain patterns recur over and over in many diverse areas of the universe, whether it is the patterning of galaxies in clusters or the price of cotton.

Specialists working in many fields independently discovered curious patterns, and eventually, starting mainly in the 1970's, they became aware of each others' work. This book takes physics as the field on which it focuses, but it mentions many others. Since some of these fields involve conscious human decision making (especially economics), I have begun to wonder whether I can find comparable patterns in languages, my own specialty.

There are many reviews of a previous printing of this book: Chaos: Making a New Science, so you can go there to check them out. Other books useful to non-specialists interested in the history of and current research in the hard sciences are The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, A Briefer History of Time and Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World. ... Read more

Product Description
Kaylin Neya is a Hawk, part of the elite force tasked with keeping the City of Elantra safe. Her past is dark, her magic uncontrolled and her allies unpredictable. And nothing has prepared her for what is coming, when the charlatans on Elani Street suddenly grow powerful, the Oracles are thrown into an uproar and the skies rain blood….

The powerful of Elantra believe that the mysterious markings on Kaylin's skin hold the answer, and they are not averse to using her—how ever they have to—in order to discover what it is.

Something is coming, breaking through the barriers between the worlds. But is it a threat that Kaylin needs to defend her city against—or has she been chosen for another reason entirely? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Oh, good. The Universe is saved...
So far, Kaylin has saved the Dragons, the Barrani, the Leotines, the Tha-alani, the Oracles, Elantra, the Fief of Barron, the elements...presumably, the world itself.

Now, Kaylin saves the Universe (yes, the Universe) from a world devouring menace called The Destroyer. She performs this heroic feat of impossibility by telling the terrifying "Destroyer of Worlds" a gentle story of love, loss and acceptance.

Right.

Her own personal story hasn't changed much. She still has too little money to buy enough food or get her uniform pressed and mended. She can't get promoted from the rank of Private, has trouble keeping a stick in her hair and getting to work on time. She's still a beat cop, breaking up civil disturbances when necessary (and rips her pants in the scuffle so they will again need to be mended.)

Oh, yes. Severen finally tells Kaylin what she means to him, (a brilliant emotional insight that we all figured out in the first book of the series.) Nightshade is still hanging in the wind. Kaylin's love life is still non-existent.

After saving the Universe and the poor aliens who are stuck between worlds, she is sternly reminded that she must take (and pass) etiquette lessons so that she might meet the Dragon Emperor and not offend him. A much more strict Dragon Lord will be the teacher who will slap her knuckles with the proverbial ruler if she doesn't pay attention to her lessons. Excuse me? After facing "The Destroyer of Worlds" (and taming it) she's supposed to worry about what fork to use?

Hell, Kaylin, just tell the Dragon Emperor a sweet little story about life and love. He'll come around. If he is not amused, the Universe is open to you now, just step across the corridor you found and walk onto another world you can save from destruction.

Until now, this has been a brilliant and very enjoyable series for me and I know that this review will promote more than a few nasty comments, but I am DONE. My credulity has reached it's limit. Waiting around for Kaylin to save the Galaxy itself will be more than I can take.

An Enjoyable Installment
This book picks up where the previous left off, and includes many references to earlier books in the series. I was pleased that it didn't spend a lot of time rehashing the previous stories, although I did feel at times that I needed to go back and reread the previous books to better understand the complexity. When I started reading this series I didn't realize how it would grow into a complex narrative, with the books functioning as puzzle pieces. Each one provides a bit more background that illustrates the full picture and context.

It's gradual, but the character is progressing...
One of the biggest complaints I've read about this series is that its taking too long to get anywhere, and the character isn't progressing. There is some truth to this - here we are at book 5 and there is still the issue of Kaylin not knowing what apparently everyone thinks she should. However, there has been progression in the character - her relationship with Severn, and her change in attitude towards Ybelline.Also, an acceptance of what she has been given.In this book too, I got the feeling that one of the things Kaylin has going for her is that she doesn't know, so she has to make it up as she goes along, trust her gut and her companions. In corporate terms - she "thinks outside the box" and the fresh approach is what usually saves the day.
For those looking for romance - look elsewhere, you will not find a lot of it in this book, although there is one especially sweet part with Severn.
One thing I love about this series is the power that words and stories are given - that is Kaylin's gift and curse, and I like how they are given their own magic.
I enjoy the pace, but new readers should realize that it does progress slowly. New readers should also start at book 1, a lot of things would be confusing is you come into the series at a later book.

Outstanding!
Sagara definitely delivered a book in keeping with the style and quality of the previous books in the series, as well as delivering a new twist you are sure to love. Couldn't put it down and didn't want to! Can't wait for what's next!

Kaylin saves the world
I've followed the books from the beginning. It is one of the few books, series or otherwise, that I cannot predict the ending.I adore the characters in this series.I disagree with a couple of reviewers that have implied that there is no growth in the series.Kaylin learns more about her abilities and there is growth within her relationship with both Severn and Nightshade.Nightshade, unfortunately, plays a small role in this book, but he does spend an entire chapter explaining his intentions and reasons for what he has done with Kaylin.In the end, Severn expresses his feelings for Kaylin.

I look forward to each book that is published in this series and would highly recommend reading it.Of course, it would not make sense unless the reader follows the plot from the first book in order.Yes, in each book, Kaylin is called to save her world.Regardless, I'm willing to put up with the repetition if it means I get to visit the strange, magical world with its strange magical people. ... Read more

Product Description
The study of chaotic systems has become a major scientific pursuit in recent years, shedding light on the apparently random behaviour observed in fields as diverse as climatology and mechanics. InThe Essence of Chaos Edward Lorenz, one of the founding fathers of Chaos and the originator of its seminal concept of the Butterfly Effect, presents his own landscape of our current understanding of the field.
Lorenz presents everyday examples of chaotic behaviour, such as the toss of a coin, the pinball's path, the fall of a leaf, and explains in elementary mathematical strms how their essentially chaotic nature can be understood. His principal example involved the construction of a model of a board sliding down a ski slope. Through this model Lorenz illustrates chaotic phenomena and the related concepts of bifurcation and strange attractors. He also provides the context in which chaos can be related to the similarly emergent fields of nonlinearity, complexity and fractals.
As an early pioneer of chaos, Lorenz also provides his own story of the human endeavour in developing this new field. He describes his initial encounters with chaos through his study of climate and introduces many of the personalities who contributed early breakthroughs. His seminal paper, "Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wing in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" is published for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Good info but long-winded and poorly written
In my opinion this book is poorly written and long-winded. The author could have explained everything in a book half the size. His explanations are not entertaining either.

The author is obviously well versed in chaos theory but lacks the ability to write a good book. For a good read on a similar topic that is much better written try The Black Swan by Taleb or The (MIS)Behavior of Markets by Mandelbrot.

Introductory examples of chaos
Chaos is not randomness and randomness is not chaos. Ed Lorenz, one of the founding fathers of chaos theory, has produced a book aimed at explaining chaos theory to the public, starting and ending on the same point- common usage has incorrectly rendered "chaotic" and "random" to be synonyms. Randomness implies that there are no equations to govern the evolution of a system, while chaos implies that the system is incredibly sensitive to its initial conditions, but there are equations behind the curtain. A pinball machine, flipping coins, tossing dice, and the global weather are all examples of chaotic systems, despite what your math teachers might have told you. Along the way you get a small dose of the history of the field and the relevant higher-level mathematics.

Lorenz does, I think, a pretty good job of explaining the subject. The more mathematically inclined reader will find all the details and differential equations in the appendix of the book, but for the most part you do not need to have that much of a mathematical background to understand the main points of the book. Sometimes the explanations do get a little hairy, and might require a second read. Lorenz makes analogies with simple systems and everyday occurrences (such as a pinball machine and skiing down moguls) in engaging language mostly free of jargon. I would recommend this book if you are interesting in learning about the basics of chaos theory. I haven't yet read Gleick's famous Chaos: Making a New Science, but this seems like an excellent place to start.

Great review of chaos by one of the founding fathers
Edward Lorenz is credited with "discovering" chaos theory based on his meteorological work.In The Essence of Chaos, Lorenz does a great job describing the historical background of chaos theory and its implications for the natural world.Well-written with some interesting graphics.

Very Good Introduction
I read this book when it was snowing outside in the Sierras. I was immediately able to correlate this book with the chaotic snow fall.

Extremely good read.

This is the book if you're looking for a chaos primer
If your interest in Chaos was piqued by Gleick's book on the subject, you may have found it unsatisfying. While it conveyed a enthusiasm for chaos, it only superficially answered questions about what characterizes a chaotic system. "The Essence of Chaos" is a much better book for gaining an understanding of chaos, mainly because it includes a discussion of the mathematics. Both authors strive to avoid mathematics as much as possible, but in the end, I believe Lorenz achieves a better balance. He only touches lightly on the math, but without that, it's impossible to understand what makes a system chaotic. He doesn't quite go so far as to show a practical application of chaos theory, but a clear and concise example of that probably doesn't exist yet. But, he does achieve the goal of demonstrating and examining the fascinating characteristics of a chaotic system. ... Read more

Product Description
In the riveting conclusion to the acclaimed dystopian series, a boy and girl caught in the chaos of war face devastating choices that will decide the fate of a world.

As a world-ending war surges around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most, or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption, or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Don't be fooled by the missing star
Monsters of Men is the only book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy that I couldn't give a five-star review.Don't get me wrong, I still loved the story, and all things considered it was a pretty knockout conclusion to what has become one of my all time favorite book series.BUT.I had some minor issues with it.

I'm probably one of the few people who will feel this way, but I wish 1017, the "Return" Spackle, hadn't been one of the multiple narrators.I wasn't crazy about Viola narrating half of The Ask and the Answer, but at least I liked Viola.I didn't really care for 1017, and except for the near end, most of his parts seemed to do more telling than showing; not enough trademark Choas Walking action. However, it was more than that: Having a Spackle narrate took away all of the mystery of the Spackle.The Spackle had always been one of my favorite things about the first and second books, and it was because they were so unique, so completely other.Being right inside 1017's head made him seem too much like an ordinary human character.And I know, this is a world of endless information, so it should only make sense that we know his thoughts, but as Mayor Printiss proves, there is such a thing as too much knowledge.

And speaking of Mayor Printiss, his character felt slightly redundant to me.I won't give away too much except to say that I had hoped to see his bad guy-ness envolve, REALLY evolve, the way it did from book one to book two.Instead it seemed that book two was where he hit his cresendo.

Overall, Monsters of Men is really a very good read through and through.It certainly doesn't suffer from losing steam the way so many conclusion books seem to do.The action is still breathless, the writing is still as sharp and precise as a scalpel, and the characters are still engaging (hello, Angharrad!)As for the ending, it left enough to the imagination to retain Ness's signature cliffhanger style, while still giving the reader a sense of resolution (I DO wish it hadn't somewhat reminded me of the final book in the Harry Potter series, however).I'm sad that I don't have these stories to read anew now, but I will undoubtably be rereading them--probably multiple times--in the very near future.Meanwhile, here's hoping Patrick Ness has other genius "New" worlds in the making.

Perils of war and the possibility of redemption
Monsters of Men is an epic novel of war told on a grand scale.The book begins immediately after the last one ends, with the beginning of a three sided conflict between the Answer, the Spackle, and Mayor Prentiss.Viola and Todd are stuck in the middle, and the action sucks the reader in straight from page one.The author does not flinch from showing the brutality of war and exploring questions of the morality surrounding it.The characters struggle with placing the good of the whole against the good of the one, and whether war can be or should be a personal thing.Mayor Prentiss says at one point that "War makes monsters of men....Well so does too much knowledge."On a planet of information, that makes for plenty of opportunity for men to behave badly and also to redeem themselves.These themes run throughout the story.

Perhaps my favorite part of this book was the portion told by Prisoner 1017.His experiences and his journey were portrayed so vividly that they added a new dimension to this story.His path to redemption told in counterpoint to the Mayor's journey was telling and effective.Unfortunately, with all the things that this story had going for it, I walked away feeling rather disappointed.There was just nothing new here, aside from Prisoner 1017's story. There were no character twists, and by about a third of the way into the novel, I felt like I was getting repeatedly hammered over the head by the points and themes described above.I felt frustrated that the author kept pounding the same points home time and time again, when I got it the first time.While the Mayor was quite the effective villain in the first two novels, I found him to be rather tedious in this one.I could see clearly what was going on with him, and was just frustrated that Todd and Viola couldn't.

In sum, while I didn't find this to be the page turner that I expected and clearly some other reviewers have experienced, I still found this to be a fairly good ending to what I feel is an incredibly original and exciting sci fi series that holds a lot of appeal for both teens and adults alike.I will still be recommending this series often, but more for the first two books than for this one.

Bogged down by the writing style
Monsters of Men is the Third Book in the Chaos walking series.In order to enjoy this book one needs to have read the first installments of the series.

I enjoyed the first in the Chaos walking very much.The second was enjoyable but frustrating at times because of Ness' dual view and his "stylistic" misspellings.In book three Ness has lost me.The narration is split between Viola, Todd and the spackle 1017 and often splits off mid scene (and then sometimes playing the same scene over from the others perspective which contributes to the extreme length of the book).The main characters have gone from being flawed to unlikeable and I truly wanted them to all be annihilated during their war.The narrations by the spackle are confusing and unclear as he has his own names for all the characters which are hard for the reader to pick out.While the last two books moved very quickly this one seems to stall and the characters that I once rooted for I now couldn't care less about.

I am currently half way through this novel and I'm not sure if I can bring myself to finish it.The characters have become so unlikeable that I don't really care what happens to them in the end.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
MONSTERS OF MEN is the wonderful conclusion to the CHAOS WALKING trilogy. It picks up where THE ASK AND THE ANSWER leaves off - right at the beginning of WAR!

The Spackle, the Answer, and the Mayor's army are all converging on New Prentisstown - and Todd and Viola are stuck in the middle.

Patrick Ness creates the same heart-pounding suspense in this novel as he did in the first two books. Multiple points of view give the reader a full understanding of what is happening.

Be sure to set aside a block of time when you start this book - or the first two, for that matter. Once I started, I didn't want to stop. I was so worried for Viola and Todd throughout the story. I was stressed and cringed as I got further into the story - afraid for what the author had in store for them.

Mr. Ness made me growl in frustration and brought me to tears. MONSTERS OF MEN ended perfectly

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

Amazing ending to the trilogy
It's so hard to know what to say about this book.It's an amazing ending to the series, and it is worthy of all those cliches... my heart was racing while I read it, it kept me guessing throughout the very last pages for what would happen to my beloved characters, there were more twists and turns then you could shake a stick at, and I was in tears at the very end.I'm going to do my best to keep this spoiler-free.

This book, like the previous two in the series, deals with weighty issues of love, loyalty, trust, communication, and information.But Ness also delves into relationships between parents and their children, leaders and followers, and the responsibilities associated with all of these roles.And then there's the issue of redemption... can people go beyond the point of redemption?

The story focuses onto Todd and Viola, Mayor Prentiss and Mistress Coyle, and the Sky (leader of the Land - or Spackle as they are called by humans) and the Return (previously known to us as 1017).Outside of these main pairings, we have two settlers, Simone and Bradly, who are friends of Viola's and control the scout ship we saw landing at the end of The Ask and the Answer.And we have the returning Mistresses, Wilf and Jane, Lee, and Angharrad and Acorn (yes, I included the horses, because I LOVE those horses).As in The Ask and the Answer, we can draw the comparisons between the Mayor and Mistress Coyle, seeing how they each use power and politics to try and seize control.But, while I thought they were far too similar in the last book, we see them strongly diverge here as they both realize that the war has changed from the one that they started.

The reader is constantly shifting in this book, from the perspective of Todd to Viola to 1017.The changes are fast-paced and abrupt, which can take a little getting used to, since it feels like you're almost always having the rug pulled out from under you.However, it's worth it to keep with the story and just try to get into Ness's rhythm.

The ending is... ambiguous.It will make for excellent discussion, as will the way that the characters finish their own stories.Ness puts such a strong emphasis on forgiveness, acceptance, and hope throughout the series that I have a hard time not feeling hopeful at the ending.You really would be doing yourself a favor in reading this series.It has a little over everything... sci-fi, survival, adventure, animals, appeal to guys and girls, romance, super powers, and war.Maybe that makes the book sound overloaded, but it's also a beautiful story with characters who will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

On a slightly offbeat note, I don't think I'll ever be able to read or hear the word "Todd?" without getting choked up.Just typing it now has me tearing up! ... Read more

Product Description
Three points of view-parent's, therapist's, and child's-make this the most practical guide on the market for raising a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or other behavioral issues.

Traditional parenting and discipline books aren't effective for parents who are dealing with kids with ADHD, OCD, depression or other disorders. They need a guide that will help them with the unique discipline and organization challenges kids with these issues have.When getting up, going to school, completing homework, helping with chores, and getting to bed all become battlegrounds, the step-by-step proven techniques presented here will help parents achieve peace in their households. It will teach parents how to:

¥ Engage in proactive, not reactive, parenting
¥ Discipline consistently and effectively
¥ Deal with stalling, forgetting, overreacting, and other everyday behavior problems
¥ Work with a child's teachers, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Good Read
This book is a must for parents who feel like they are at their wits end with their ADD or ADHD (or just generally badly behaved!) child.

extremely helpful!!!
I haven't finished reading it yet, but so far it has been so helpful. I've got a 7 year old and a 4 year old and it's been quite enlightning!!

I love this book!
I am both a pediatric OT and a parent of a child with ADHD.What I love most about this book is that it gives both the parent's perspective and the child's perspective.The child in this book could not be more like my son.It brought tears to my eyes when I first read it. It is a must read for any parent or person working with a child who has ADHD.

A good book for Basic Behavior Modification NOT for special needs
I liked the book in that it offers practical Behavior Modification tools. For parents who have never tried to use Behavior Modification or who haven't tried Behavioral therapy, this book is a great place to learn. For parents of children when more severe behavioral problems, this book would be overwhelming.

Sometimes, you have to start 'small' in behavior modification, such as is recommended by Dr.Greene in The Explosive Child. Rather than having lists of rules, sometimes parents and therapists have to focus on one behavior at a time, making sure that particular behavior is serious enough to warrant the attention it is getting. I do like the mention of Social Skills training for children with ADHD and the recognition that this kind of training might not be possible witout handling behavioral issues first.

AN ANSWER TO A PARENT'S PRAYER!
I bought this book recently to see if there was anything I could do to bring Peace into our chaotic household, and have found it to be amazingly accurate and very user-friendly.As I read the first few chapters, I was literally wondering if they had installed secret cameras in my house, because the authors were describing our life so accurately.With 5 children under the age of 12, of course there is always going to be some chaos, but when you add ADHD and BiPolar Disorder to the mix, it becomes a whole different story.The tips in each chapter and the 'Pointers for Parenting' were extremely helpful, but I especially liked that they included quotes from the author's son, who also struggled with ADHD- it was great to read a child's perspective on things.I highly recommend this book to any parent out there with a special needs child, or just a plain old defiant adolescent.It has made a positive impact on our lives, and I am very thankful to have found it. ... Read more

Product Description
Recognizing the importance of the charismatic movement and the need for a biblical evaluation of it, MacArthur analyzes the doctrinal differences between charismatics and non-charismatics in the light of Scripture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (145)

Excellent
This is an excellent book on the topic of spiritual gifts.No matter what your stance is you should read this book.

flat. boring. legalistic. shallow. hateful
Years ago when this fair theologian--I am double theologian--was raving over this issue of infusions of the HS, the radio canned him for his strident un approachable unpeaceful manner.

He is no one I look up to after being in the best of the best seminaries. He is just another tangential strident person who has better issues to fix.

Ball of confusion
While there is a lot of truth concerning the topic of this book, it is also quite true that there is enough non-sense to go around in all forms of Christianity.

The Calvinist, Fundamentalist, Baptist, etc...all are in need of addressing the numerous short comings regarding their respective denominational beliefs and don't get me started on Denominationalism. The Church is a mess and there is enough blame to go around for everyone.

Fundamentalist law and order
John F. MacArthur is a well known fundamentalist leader in California. He is the pastor of the Grace Community Church and president of the Master's College, and the author of an extensive and popular Bible commentary. Apparently, his theology combines Baptism, Calvinism and Dispensationalism. Perhaps for that reason, his church is independent from the major denominations.

"Charismatic Chaos" is John MacArthur's classical criticism of the charismatic movement, published in 1992. It's somewhat dated, since it was written before the onset of the Toronto Blessing, arguably the most extreme form of charismatic revival hitherto. Still, the book is often referenced by other critics of the charismatics, presumably because of its timeless Biblical arguments. It's also surprisingly well written and easy to read, something unusual for heavy works of theology and Bible exposition.

MacArthur argues that miracles, signs and wonders were unique to the age of the apostles and ceased already before the death of the last apostle. God no longer works through miracles and other supernatural occurrences, save for some exceptional circumstances. Charismatic claims of healing, raising the dead and other such miraculous events must therefore be considered bogus. Nor does God communicate through the speaking of tongues. That too was a unique occurrence during the apostolic age. Besides, the tongues miraculously spoken by some early Christians were real languages, not the gibberish typical of charismatic services. Further, MacArthur argues that the canon is closed, that no new revelation is possible today, and that the prophecies often made by charismatic leaders cannot be considered inspired or accurate. He also discusses the role of subjective experience, the ecumenical tendencies within the charismatic revival and rules for correct Bible interpretation. The harshest chapter deals with the Word of Faith movement, which the author believes is cultish, blasphemous and anti-Christian.

I consider MacArthur's book to be a very competent "traditional" answer to the charismatics, written from an evangelical/fundamentalist and somewhat Calvinist perspective (this book deals with Dispensationalism only in passing). People interested in the controversies sparked by the charismatic revival should definitely read this book. Indeed, it's probably the only fundamentalist response to the charismatics you need to read!

Of course, as an atheist-agnostic, I don't believe a word of it. But then, I don't believe the charismatics either. As usual in debates of this sort, both sides frequently score points against each other. MacArthur is right to point out that the excesses of the charismatic movement were similar to those criticized by Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians. He is (probably) wrong to suggest that "tongues" always referred to actual human languages. Paul mentions "the language of angels" in his epistle, something MacArthur unconvincingly attempts to brush aside as irony. He is on even thinner ice when suggesting that the Bible should never be allegorized or spiritualized, since Jesus and the apostles themselves did precisely that. There are no explicit prophecies about Jesus in the "Old Testament", so the only way to read Jesus into the Jewish Bible is by employing pretty odd hermeneutics. In Acts, Peter uses Joel to justify Pentecost, while James uses Amos to defend the decision to preach to the Gentiles. In context, however, these verses mean something else, so whatever this is, it certainly isn't "literal" interpretation. (I can hear the fundies gnashing their teeth.) MacArthur's argument about the Apocrypha not being inspired is even weaker, since the earliest Christian Bibles included the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. And why did Jude (supposedly a brother of Jesus) quote the super-apocryphal Book of Enoch? Here, MacArthur is forced to appeal to the authority of...Jerome! Was he inspired, I wonder?

On a more theological level, I'm sure charismatics would want to know how MacArthur explains the ecstatic worship mentioned in the Old Testament, the frequently bizarre behaviour of the prophets, or the fact that Elisha's bones had miraculous healing powers. (I think it was Elisha. I haven't read the Bible for quite some time.)

Of course, the author is quite correct in pointing out the frivolity and absurdity of charismatic claims to healing, but the village atheist might object that MacArthur has no problem accepting the Biblical claims about Jesus raising the dead, despite the fact that this is even more difficult to verify than contemporary claims of miracles. Not to mention the resurrection...

There is also a tension in the book between the eminently Biblical idea that people won't believe the Christian message even if they see miracles being performed (Jesus was crucified, despite his many miracles) and the more psychologically correct observation that people *will* believe if they see such - the author himself admits that charismatic churches seem to be growing at an alarming pace. Indeed, I suspect that the growth and spread of the charismatic revival may to some extent be a reaction to the narrow, dry, literalist and "objective" theology of more traditional evangelicals and Calvinists. Many people apparently want more than fundamentalist law and order!

That being said, I nevertheless recommend "Charismatic Chaos" for the reasons given above. For those who want to know how traditional-minded fundamentalists respond to the various charismatic groups, this book is an indispensable starting point. In that sense, it deserves five stars.

Best resource on the Charismatic movement!
I discovered this book some 5+ years ago and to this day has been the best resource on the Charismatic movement in my library. I only wish that John MacArthur would release an UPDATE. But all in all definitely a book to recommend! ... Read more

Product Description
James Gleick explains the theories behind the fascinating new science called chaos. Alongside relativity and quantum mechanics, it is being hailed as the twentieth century's third revolution. 8 pages of photos.Amazon.com Review
Few writers distinguish themselves by their ability to writeabout complicated, even obscure topics clearly and engagingly. JamesGleick, a former science writer for the New York Times, residesin this exclusive category. In Chaos, he takes on the job ofdepicting the first years of the study of chaos--the seemingly randompatterns that characterize many natural phenomena.

This is not apurely technical book. Instead, it focuses as much on the scientistsstudying chaos as on the chaos itself. In the pages of Gleick's book,the reader meets dozens of extraordinary and eccentric people.Forinstance, Mitchell Feigenbaum, who constructed and regulated his lifeby a 26-hour clock and watched his waking hours come in and out ofphase with those of his coworkers at Los Alamos NationalLaboratory.

As for chaos itself, Gleick does an outstanding job ofexplaining the thought processes and investigative techniques thatresearchers bring to bear on chaos problems. Rather than attempt toexplain Julia sets, Lorenz attractors, and the Mandelbrot Set withgigantically complicated equations, Chaos relies on sketches,photographs, and Gleick's wonderful descriptive prose. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (115)

Anecdote and Science
"Chaos" is far too much opinionated anecdote and far too little science. All the stories of brilliant mathematicians who worked out the theory, and all the silly physical scientists who couldn't see it was explaining their world, can't cover up the fact that nowhere does Gleick actually explain either the math or the physical science.

I came away with the view that there certainly are physical realities (in biology, hydrodynamics, electronics, etc.), that are explained by Chaos Theory, but no idea what the explanation is or how it works.

Poor book.

Intelligent, tantalizing, brisk popular science
Gleick traces the genesis of chaos theory by emphasizing the key personalities involved: Edward Lorenz in research meteorology; Stephen Smale, Benoit Mandelbrot, and Mitchell Feigenbaum in mathematics; and the experimental researchers in physics and biology who recognized some implications of and applications for the emerging theory.

Gleick's work has two central themes. First and primary is the description of chaos theory. Gleick begins by noting that chaotic systems, which are deterministic but which are not predictable, undermine the supposedly customary assumption of deterministic predictability and thereby revolutionizes physics. Gleick indirectly describes this chaos theory, observing its chief properties including sensitivity to initial conditions, damping and driving processes, global, or macro-scale stability despite local, or micro-scale, instability, representation through frequently unsolvable non-linear equations, and modeling through visualization, fractal geometry, and multi-dimensional Poincare maps.

Gleick's second and auxiliary theme is his critical commentary on the scientific and research process. Gleick suggests that interdisciplinary science produces innovative theories. Similarly, he suggests that scientists' tendencies to isolate themselves within their respective disciplines and to disregard, undervalue, or remain disinterested in results from foreign disciplines impedes scientific progress. Finally, Gleick favorably contrasts the contributions of experimenters with those of theorists and suggests that the former are more likely to address interesting, rather than merely conventional or solvable, problems.

Gleick's text feels brisk and intelligent. The author introduces many scientific ideas and personalities. Although the lay target audience of the book and its brevity preclude detailed discussion, Gleick tantalizes and supports further investigation with extensive source notes. Nevertheless, Gleick's work may frustrate readers who have knowledge sufficient to understand (and desire) more technical detail but who lack the experience or breadth of knowledge necessary to identify the general scientific or mathematical concepts alluded to. Finally, Gleick's non-chronological progression, sometimes rapid alternation between personalities, and occasional mention of names and concepts that are either not explained nearby or not at all may further frustrate readers.

Good
Gleick does a great job of chronicling the many (many) intersting characters who contributed to the study of chaos and simplifies itenough to make it understandable. However, I think even a hardcore mathmetician/physicist/whatever would find it goes deep enough into the material to be interesting. Throughout the book he continually refers back to other people from earlier in the book. If you are anything like me you will not be able to keep these people straight and it gets confusing. I lost steam reading this thing about five times but eventually got through it. It was enlightening but not always riveting. If you are interested in chaos and learning about people much smarter than you, this is the book for you.

Great Introduction
There are very few books on any field of science that can be read from cover-to-cover by a layman.This book captured my attention from the beginning and introduced a new way of thinking about science.

The math sections, whether discussing fractals, bifurcations, or attractors, where presented in very clear language that I could follow without advanced math education.

Other topics were presented with the same clarity and easy to follow language that made this book a rare treat.

If you are interested in learning about Chaos theory or any of its associated elements, I cannot recommend a better book!

Good narrative history of Chaos/Complexity
Mr. Gleick delivers to the reader a concise and approachable narrative of the history, science, and mathematics of chaos theory. Much as he did with his biography of Richard Feynman, Gleick managed to make the complex understandable for a non-scientist and manage to keep the reader engaged/interested. If the reader has an interest in chaos, this would one of the first books to read. Highly recommended (just sorry it took me 20 years to getting around to it!). ... Read more

Product Description
Create the business you want without sacrificing the lifestyle you deserve

The majority of new entrepreneurs (and even those with a little more experience) are finding themselves trapped, controlled, and consumed by their own businesses. They are struggling just to keep their businesses running, let alone actually growing their companies and experiencing the success they anticipated.

Conquer the Chaos speaks to you as a small business owner by making sense of the overwhelming demands on your business and providing a twenty-first century recipe for success with sanity. With engaging stories, quotes, and examples, Conquer the Chaos leads you through the six strategies you can incorporate to bring order to your business today. Find the money, time, and freedom in entrepreneurship that inspired you in the first place

• Successfully juggle customers, prospects, management of employees, marketing, sales, accounting, and more
• Get from just surviving to growing your company and experiencing success

Conquer the Chaos gives you the no-nonsense, ready-to-go guide that gets your business exactly where you want it to be. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

An Inspiring Tale For Any Small Business Owner
I've been holding off reading Conquer the Chaos till I knew I could give it some attention.Well today, I got thinking that I'm going to see the authors next week and since I wanted to take the afternoon off, I sat down and read the whole thing start to finish.

That was an accomplishment. Every time I read a good business book, my mind goes off in many direction with the ideas that come to me. The best books are the ones that keep my mind racing with ideas.

I knew that would happen with Conquer the Chaos. I've been using InfusionSoft for many years and all of the trainings, webinars and speeches from these guys are this inspiring. Sometimes, I sit down to do a task in Infustionsoft and come up with 3 more great ideas.

Today I forced myself to read the whole book. Still, I had to pause and write down two ideas.. one of which will likely add $30,000.00 to sales in the next week.

A couple of hours are always worth it if you get one good idea from a book like this.

It is all in your mind, grasshopper!
There are very few small business books out there that lead to real and lasting change in how you deal with your business. While //Conquer the Chaos// might not lead to a smaller pile on your desk, it will give you something even better, a whole new perspective on your life, not just your business.

Written by the co-founders of Infusionsoft, a provider of marketing software for small businesses, it was refreshing that it wasn't a long drawn out pitch to get you to buy their system. They focus more on mindset, you know, those goals you had for what starting a business meant to you before you started it and suddenly got so busy trying to put out fires, make payroll, and keep the lights on.

The chapter that really resonated was Disciplined Optimism. There is a huge difference between total blind optimism, knowing that the sun will come out tomorrow, and disciplined optimism, knowing that the sun will come out, but being aware that you have to do your part, you can't just sit there and wait for it to come. With antidotes from their own rise to the top and real tools that can lead to lasting change, this might just be the best small business book that you read all year.

Reviewed by Gwen Stackler

Secret to Small Business Success
Conquer the Chaos by Clate Mask and Scott Martineau is a must read for any small business owner, whether you are just beginning or have been in business awhile. Most people start a business looking for more freedom, they want to have more money, more time to do the things, and control over what they do and how they do it. This may sound good but as any business owner knows, chaos soon takes over, and their business starts consuming their lives.

The idea of more money, time, and control go out the door as they try just to survive. In this book the authors lay out a complete understanding of what chaos is when applied to business and then lay out a path to help you overcome this chaos. They tell it in a way that I completely understood and could identify with having seen and been through many of the situations they describe.

They lay out a plan utilizing their software, Infusionsoft, that will allow you to centralize your customer information, follow up with your current customers, and automate this follow up. The key for me was the way they explained it that made it very easy for me to understand and comprehend.
I would recommed this book for anyone that owns a business.

The ideas and concepts presented in this book will definitely help your business grow and also help you balance your work with your family and your health.

A very long ad
This book has gotten rave reviews, and I had high expectations for it, but I was very disappointed. The first half of the book is a pep talk, and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes people need a pep talk. This book uses inspiring stories and folksy humor for the pep talk, and many people like that a lot. There's also a focus on realistic expectations: namely, that growing a business is likely to lead to chaos, and that fact alone shouldn't be disheartening. Having the right attitude (that's the pep talk part) and the right systems, they assure you, will help you handle it.

Then they move on to the systems that will allow you to grow your business without getting overwhelmed and giving up your life. The authors argue convincingly that business owners need to centralize their information, follow up persistently, and automate both follow up and billing. While I wasn't entirely convinced that doing these things would "conquer the chaos" and rescue me from 14 hour work days, it did seem as though these were worthwhile systems to put in place.

I read expectantly on, thinking that any moment I'd see the steps the authors advocated for creating these systems. Sure enough, the very end of the book gives the method for creating these valuable systems: buy the authors' software.

I recommend that you not buy the book. Go directly to the authors' website and save the money. You can put it toward their software, if you like.

Not only for small business owners
I read other reviews before submitting this and yes, there is a bit of marketing for their company, Infusionsoft, (hence 4 stars not 5) but not much - anyway it's their book and their business so why not. Maybe other reviewer read things in a different context from me, anyway....

This book is about being entrepreneurial and anyone working directly with customers, for themselves or for an organization, can learn a lot.
It begins with some frank lessons learnt from the authors that, while quite humorous in retrospect, you can really feel their pain. In fact if you only read chapter 2 you would never think of starting a business.
The following chapters go on to guide (note `guide', not `promising to solve') you to overcome these problems and is truly a good case study into what I believe is now a successful business.

The chapter on Follow Up is one I know I will go back to. Figures from sales research are discussed and the results quite astounding. Applying this knowledge alone can improve sales teams attitudes (and results). Frank questions about consistency are asked, one example being; `Are you consistently and effectively following up with ALL your customers?'. I believe the authors when they get a resounding `No' from most people.

For the small business owner this challenges the initial beliefs to why you start a small business, and reinforces that it is not enough to gain a customer base of a certain size and then become complacent or content with just these customer `grow or die' is a term they use correctly.

I've already sent my CEO (small business owner) and Sales VP a copy of this book.
... Read more

Product Description

In this incisive and insightful book, Judge Andrew P. Napolitano peels back the legal veneer and shows how politicians, judges, prosecutors, and bureaucrats are trampling the U.S. Constitution in the name of law and order and fighting terrorism. Napolitano reveals how they:

• silence the First Amendment
• shoot holes in the Second
• break some laws to enforce others
• entrap citizens
• steal private property
• seize evidence without warrant
• imprison without charge
• kill without cause

Pundits on the right, left, and center have praised Constitutional Chaos for its penetrating examination of our rights and liberties in the post-9/11 world.

"Has the war on terrorism taken away some of your rights? In a non-ideological way, Judge Andrew P. Napolitano answers that crucial question. This book will open your eyes."-Bill O'Reilly

"This book is a wake-up call for all who value personal freedom and limited government."-Rush Limbaugh

"In all of the American media, Judge Napolitano is the most persistent, uncompromising guardian of both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution. . ."-Nat Hentoff

Judge Andrew P. Napolitano is Fox News Channel's senior judicial analyst, seen by millions on The Big Story with John Gibson, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox and Friends, and other shows. His articles and commentaries have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Newark Star Ledger, and other national publications.

Customer Reviews (68)

MUST READ
Judge Napolitano's book about how the government abuses its power is an absolute must read.You will never see the government in the same way again.Some of the things the government has done over the years are absolutely sickening, the Freedom movement is lucky to have Judge Napolitano in its corner.

Is our government out of control?
Judge Napolitano provides dozens of fact-filled stories showing how our government violates the law -- with virtual impunity.The details of the government's role in the massacre of helpless children held hostage in Waco, Texas is especially chilling.As unchecked government power expands, the rights of citizens are slipping away.

Napolitano's first hard hitting book
This was the first of Judge Andrew Napolitano's books on the usurpation of the Constitution.In this book he introduces us to his philosophy as it evolved from GOP conservatism to libertarian individualism while serving on the bench in New Jersey.The book is 198 pages long with a text of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and a short index.The book in essence described the court rulings that have allowed the government to take on a "do as I say, not as I do" brand of police justice that has led to numerous charges of entrapment and abuse of Fourth Amendment rights.As with his later books, Napolitano spares neither party as he attacked Bush's war policy after 9/11 and Clinton's use of force at Waco, Miami and Ruby Ridge.The debate of whether government has overstep its bounds might be up in the air for some, but for me there is no question that the misreading of various clauses in the Constitution has given the gang in DC maximum power.

A five-star effort for the Judge's first book.

A stunner of a book
I have not finished it yet and I am ready to get the pitchforks and torches, figuratively.In recent years, the government has been shaking my belief in government and I have been reading the founding fathers who considered government a necessary evil that must necessarily be kept in check to avoid it becoming a tyrant.Well tyranny seems to be here. But now reading the cases in this book...shows me it has been even more corrupt in so many ways for a long time. I can see now how ordinary law-abiding citizens can be falsely imprisoned and targeted by any government body that has an ax to grind, or even accidentally because of where you are or what you do.God forbid, you look like a likely suspect because the conviction rate is extremely high and none of us believe that is an accident or good detective work.Some of it is because they don't follow the rules we are expected to follow.Do I think that allowing some innocent folks to be in jail to be sure you have all the bad guys is ok?..NO! Thank God neither does the Judge!I am so glad I read this and I will read more of his works now.This must read is a stunning eye opener.

Couldn't get through it
I really wanted to read about how we can get our judges to protect our Constitution.Unfortunately, after three chapters, I had to stop reading this one.They were all the same!Basically illustrations of how bad the judges were - how they were using the bench to their own ends rather than meting out justice.And they all got away with it!Really depressing! ... Read more

Product Description
Bands including Dead, Euronymous, and Varg Vikernes — along with sociologists, police officers, theologians, and occultists — recount how the satanic Black Metal, a spin-off of the heavy metal underground, devolved into acts of church burning, murder, and suicide in Scandinavia. This second edition, fully revised, discusses the crimes committed by Black Metal practitioners since 1997 in one of the strangest sagas in the history of rock and roll. Over 200 photos and illustrations are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (145)

Excellent
"From Publishers Weekly
Gangsta Rap's white-kid counterpart, black metal music enjoys a continued obscurity that is baffling in light of the made-for-tabloid events detailed in Moynihans's and Soderlind's book. Their book is a sort of guide to the Norwegian black metal scene, where, the authors claim, this latest, more rebellious form of heavy metal music originated. Moreover, Norway is the recent setting for the burning of numerous churches, and for two gruesome murders for which a small group of black metallers have been convicted. Whereas gangsta rappers might cite ancient African traditions that have been violently uprooted as a cause for their crimes against society, Norwegian black metal-heads cite the slaughter of their pagan traditions at the hands of early Christians as their justification. For most readers, such rationalizations will fall apart as they note that black metal kids murder their own kind (as, often, do gangsta rappers). It does not require 344 pages (plus appendices) to become disenchanted with the authors' rather disorganized history, but rabid fans will find much to savor here, such as lengthy interviews with the scene's icons. This is an exhaustive look at a few, extremely disturbed young men who, tragically, did not get Ozzy Osbourne's joke.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title."

What an idiot this guy is....obviously knows nothing and enjoys tasteless music.

Excellent book on a unique, pure, amazing style of metal music.

I can't wait to read this!
Based on what I've read so far via the preview option, this book is going to be great!

I can't wait to read this!
Based on what I've read so far via the preview option, this book is going to be great!

Interesting stuff, lame treatment
Lotsa fun facts about every parent's worst nightmare.Unfortunately, the authors seem to be trying to relive their missed adolescence through the creepy kids' deplorable antics.

Non-fiction done right
Pros: This is a very well written book of non-fiction about black metal musicians, satanists, neo-nazis, and heathen revivalists. It is not dry, like many other works of non-fiction, and simultaneously isn't fantastical or fabricated, like many so-called works of non-fiction are. Here you will find over 3 dozen interviews with the people that lived through the 90s Norwegian rise of Black Metal, law-enforcement officials who incarcerated them, reporters who covered them, priests of the state church, priests of the church of Satan, anthropologists, National socialist leaders, revolutionaries, and terrorists. As a source of information, it is quite comprehensive. The author doesn't spare the reader from the realities of the murders, cannibalism, grave desecrations, and church arsons, or some of the more fringe views of key members, which involve UFOs and other weird theories. Everything is presented as what it is, without a lot of gus. The facts in this case are interesting enough to maintain healthy interest.

Cons: While the first 9 chapters of the book have to with black metal music, the remaining discuss in sequence heathens, satanists, and neo-nazis in their own context. This is understandable, as the most influential Black Metal personality that survived (he killed the other one) writes a lot of political work from prison. I debate whether the amount of time spent discussing with him the virtues of Odin-worship were warranted. On one hand, it is all relevant real material. On the other, it goes a bit long. Similarly, the discussion of Satanism has a lot of pages devoted to it, and perhaps rightly so because some of the Black Metal bands have and continue to enthusiastically worship the devil. This maybe my own bias entering here, but I'll say I got bored during some of these lengthy discussions.

Summary: When it comes to non-fiction, it's not enough to just gather the facts and put them down. The author of Lords of Chaos clearly has a sense of how things happened and provides the details that make this saga of the Black Metal phenomenon quite tangible and approachable. The subject is as difficult as it is sensational so it is nice to see things handled with thorough care to capture the subtleties and not make anyone into too much or a star or hero. ... Read more

Product Description

"Andrieh Vitimus is the real deal...honest-to-gods, in-your-face magic. Hands-On Chaos Magic is just what it says,
and the next best thing to working with the master himself."
—Lon Milo DuQuette, author of The Magick of Aleister Crowley

"A must-have for any magician."—Taylor Ellwood, author of Multi-Media Magic

"Written with intelligence, experience,
and a genuine desire to empower readers." —Raven Digitalis, author of Shadow Magick Compendium

"A usable introduction to the concepts
and practical techniques of chaos magic."—Donald Michael Kraig, author of Modern Magick

"A well-considered and thorough contribution
to the chaos magic current."—Dave Lee, author of Chaotopia

This irreverent guide to chaos magic emphasizes experimentation and finding out what works best for you. Andrieh Vitimus presents a revolutionary hands-on course of study for the average Jane or Joe. Vitimus banishes the severe tone of other esoteric orders, offering an accessible and practical approach that makes it easier to perform successful chaos magic that is uniquely your own.

Customer Reviews (21)

Personally, one of the best on the subject
This extensive, well written manual on Chaos Magick is personally one of the best written, in my opinion. It starts out with total beginner stuff (and even taught me a few things I thought I already knew)and steadily moves on to teaching you pretty much anything you'd ever want to know. And if its not in here, you will have been trained with the skills to accomplish it, by the end of reading. A must for anyone interested in any type of occultism.

Hands on chaos magic
Great book with very practical exercises. I like the straight forward style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in chaos magic.

How to DO magick
Andrieh has proven in his own life that he can DO magick make things happen by having taken his life from being homeless to getting a graduate degree and being a successful author and teacher of magick (He teaches on Pope Pete's online school). In this book he shares with you this wisdom he has that was born out of results. The review should be on how well the author delivers the information on the subject at hand and not a review of the subject. That should go elsewhere. If you enter the chaos magick paradigm, this author is top notch at delivering information on chaos magick.

Asi Es, Asi Sera
Let me first state that I am not at all a fan of Chaos Magick. I am of the belief that Chaos Magick is only slightly more serious a field of Magick than is playing dungeons and dragons. Agree in whole with the opinions offered by Frater RO on his Blog "Head For the Red", and also with Frater Inominandum's Essay "Why Not Invoke Superman"... (Google them, they're well worth your time)... In all honesty, I find Chaos Magick, as a whole, detestable. I know that I will draw fire for this, but this is not my opinion alone; It is shared by a great many, a majority even, of Modern Magickians. The attitude of Chaos Magicians is, basically, "The spirits and gods dont actually exist they're just in our mind, so why can't we just create new ones, or invoke, say, superman". Shaking my head, I mutter "Idiots..." to quote the aforemention article by Inominandum; "A saying we have in the Chthonic Auranian Order: "There's nothing like getting a kick in the [butt] from something that you didn't think existed"

Having thus expressed my disdain for Chaos Magick as a whole, let me know move on to the book at which you were looking before reading this review, "Hands-On Chaos Magic: Reality Manipulation through the Ovayki Current". While I have a distaste for Chaos Magick as a whole, I have found that gems of wisdom can be gleaned from the works of Peter Carroll, Phil Hine and Sherman. this is not the case with the present book. As if it were not enough of an affront to Magick in its belief that one can invoke the forces of superheros and their like; This author has decided to make use of those venerable figures of Magick "Harry Potter" and "Lord Voldemort". He has even provided you with rituals to bring forth your very own Patronous just like Harry does in the movies! Oh happy day, maybewe'll get really lucky and he'll teach us how to invoke the smurfs and carebears!

To feed my interest in the subconscious.
This is the most comprehensive book I could find on Chaos Magic. I'm very happy with my purchase. ... Read more

Product Description
Mary Lou Finney is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller coaster ride of all time.

Customer Reviews (149)

"Chic-Lit" garbage for tweens
This book is akin to "Chic-Lit" for tweens. My 11 year-old just read it as a required summer read. She found it "boring" and "inapproriate." She states there was no real plot nor character development. (hence boring) The "inappropriate" aspect was the introduction of themes of pre-marital sex and teen pregnancy. She brought this to my attention and I am chagrined that these themes are discussed at this age level. As a parent I would like to be the one to discuss these value/moral issues with my children! In summary the book is poorly written, does not raise the bar for young ladies in our culture and, as my daughter says "too pre-teen American person."

great book
this book is soo good, once i got into it i just couldn't stop reading. just such a good book especially for teens.

Chaos Everyday!
Have you ever had a summer where new and exciting things happen every single day? This book is called Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech. I gave this book five stars! I gave it five stars because it's a great book for adolescents because it connects to everyone. It talks about families, friends, summer vacations, and more! This book is about a young girl (around thirteen years old) named Mary Lou who just got out of school and is exploring her summer vacation. Mary Lou's cousin is in her house for the entire summer. Mary Lou always has to pick up after him and he never talks and he stays in his room (the guest room). Although, he always comes out when there is food on the table and he eats like a horse! Mary Lou has to deal with her cousin, her crazy family, and her best friend. Mary Lou's best friend name is Beth Ann. Beth Ann is obsessed with her "divine" boyfriend who is really snotty. Also, Beth Ann was invited to a slumber party where the enemies of Beth Ann and Mary Lou are going to be. Will she go? Lastly, Mary Lou also has a love life of her own! The genre of this book is realistic fiction. It has a lot of humor and a sprinkle of mystery.

In the book there were a lot of good characters. My favorite character of the book was, of course, Mary Lou. I really like Mary Lou because she is always true to her self and unlike Beth Ann, just because she has a boyfriend it doesn't change her or the way she thinks. The author, Sharon Creech did a lot of wonderful things to make this book come alive. She made it seem like you were the character instead of just reading words on a page. Sharon made all of the characters come alive. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of realistic fiction. Someone who enjoys laughing when reading, but still being a little mystified. If you like this book you can check out other books by Sharon Creech including...The Wanderer, Bloomability, and Ruby Holler.

-SMB

interesting summer for a 13yo girl
I enjoyed this book.Mary Lou has her first crush and kiss.Her friend is boy-crazy.Her cousin comes to visit.A neighbor dies.Lots of stuff.And, in the end, it is all tied together neatly.With, even, a perhaps not necessary serious accident.

Here is my big question and surprise.I kept checking and checking to see when it was written.Published 1990.But it reads like a Beverly Cleary's Ramona time period.Just not modern at all.

A fine read, though.

Absolutely normal chaos
Absolutely Normal Chaos
By: Sharon Creech

The characters in this book are Mary Lou finely and her family, Alex Cheevey and his mom and dad, Beth Ann Mary's best friend, and her cousin Carl Ray. The conflict in this story is trying to deal with Cary Ray, and her secret crush becomes more that she thought. To begin Mary Lou had a summer assignment. She had to write in a journal everyday bout what she did over the summer. She really did not want to do it. But she did do it and got really into it. She has a best friend named Beth Ann. Beth Ann has a boyfriend who is a total jerk. Mary Lou feels left out and she is kind of jealous of her, because she has a boyfriend and she does not. But Mary has a secret, she likes a boy named Alex Cheevey. Well she would see him at the pool. But where Mary lived was not a rich and fancy place. But Alex lived in a rich neighborhood. And so one day Alex told her he only came just to see her. And that's how they became boyfriend and girlfriend. Mary heard that her cousin Carl Ray is coming to live with them for a while. He came to get a job. About 3 weeks later he found a job at Furtz's hardware store. And I few weeks after that Mr. Furtz had a heartattacks and died in the hospital the next few days. And after that Mr. Furtz son took over for a little bit and gave Carl Ray a brake. So he went to visit his family. And Mary Lou came with him. She hated it there her cousin were mean to her and she wanted to leave as soon as she could. And even worse Sally Lynn and John Ray did a mean prank on her. She was so sad they left earlier. On the car way going back to Mary's house Carl Ray told her that Mr. Furtz was his real dad. And that's why he came to live with them. And he got money in the story and that was from his REAL dad. At the end of the story summer was ending. Beth Ann and Mary and Alex went to the pool to hang out and talk about there summer. And they all said that they can not wait to go to school.
The setting of the story is at Mary's house, pool, outside, and Carl Ray's house. The theme to me is that just have fun during the summer and whatever happens go with it.

... Read more

Product Description
The biggest fantasy from L. E. Modesitt, Jr. to date, Colors of Chaos is the story of the White Chaos wizard Cerryl: his education in life and love, and his rise to power in the magicians guild of Fairhaven. This is the direct sequel to The White Order, which told of Cerryl's boyhood and youth, and takes place at the same time as the events in Modesitt's earlier novel, The Magic Engineer. Yet it stands alone, the longest Recluce novel, a portrayal of the growth and change of character and of the strengths and weaknesses of an age-old civilization held together by the power of magic.

Ceryl, now a full mage in The White Order, must prove himself indispensible to Jeslek, the High Wizard. Whether through assassination, effective gorvernance of occupied territory or the fearless and clever direction of troops in battle, Ceryl faces many harrowing obstacles, not the least of which is Anya, the plotting seductress who's the real power behind the scenes of the white wizards. With his wits, his integrity, and the support of his love, the Black healer Leyladin, he must survive long enough to claim his rightful spot within the ruling heirarchy of the White Order.

This is a must-read for followers of the Saga of Recluce, offering a unique, sympathetic point of view of the White Chaos wizards-the forces that throughout history have opposed the magicians of Recluce.

Colors of Chaos is the ninth book in the saga of Recluce.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Terrible typos
I love the writing in the book but the OCR translation of the scanned book leaves the same mistakes on almost every page. I felt like I was trudging through sludge in trying to read the content of the story. It makes me angry that I paid for this book. The lack of editing is egregeous.

Digital woes..
This isn't a review of the story itself.It's a warning for those downloading the digital version.It is evident that it was translated by an optical character recognition (OCR) program, and never even spell-checked afterwards!It is filled with broken words, wrong words, and sequences of letters and characters that are meaningless.At the price charged for a digital version, with no printing, warehousing, distribution and retail expenses, this is unacceptable, verging on the sinful.Caveat Emptor.

Kindle Version Review
This book is an excellent example of Kindle Gone Bad.Evidently this book was entered by someone who either has no English and is a bad typist or by my deceased grandmother over the ether.If the Kindle entry was edited at all it must have been by someone who has English as a 4th or 5th language.The story was great but hard to read with all the typos.Otherwise its about 3.5 stars.I love my Kindle and Modesitt is one of my favorite authors but this is ridiculous.

Not Free SF Reader
Cerryl, from The White Order, is all grown up here and in a position of power.In this book, we see a lot of the same important events of The Magic Engineer, but from the Chaos Side.

It seems that diplomacy is something that will be important in his future.Politics and taxes, all that sort of thing.

What is interesting is that despite the Black and White names, it is all just grey, depending on whose viewpoint is shown at the time.

Excellent
I've always been a fan of this series, but this may well be my favorite to date. The tie-in from the "other side of the fence" is very enlightening, and nicely written.

I found myself thinking, "Why don't Cerryl and Dorrin just get together and talk? They want the same thing...", as if these were two real people.

Any book that can make me forget I'm reading a book, is an excellent book indeed. ... Read more